


Discovery

by superRDF



Category: DCU - Comicverse
Genre: DCnU, F/M, New 52
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-04
Updated: 2013-05-04
Packaged: 2017-12-10 08:56:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/784207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superRDF/pseuds/superRDF
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Searching for a cure for her kryptonite poisoning as well as a finding out who has taken a sudden interest in her; Kara stumbles upon another mystery in the form a memory washed patient.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> canon up to Supergirl #19 new 52 verse. also my summaries suck :P

Kara Zor-El was on a mission.

In the search for a cure to her kryptonite poisoning she was beginning to get more and more hampered by humans. It had started when she was apprehended by seemingly government soldiers in her sick state, and then she was attacked by a purple creature that called himself Appex. As it turned out the two weren’t unrelated.

For starters the soldiers were **_not_** government workers. Or so that’s what Karen had told her, who was a whole different explanation in herself. Appex had continued to talk about testing the limits of her power, whatever that meant. Before the Kryptonite poisoning her powers had been capless, restrained only by her own presence of mind. Now, there was no clear answer but when she wasn’t sick she certainly _felt_ like she had endless power.

She could have gone to Kal-El, or Clark as he kept reminding her, but that was a less than ideal option for many reasons. The least of which was the fact that she couldn’t bear to face him with the guilt in her heart. Her blind desire to return to Krypton had caused her to turn away from a her sole surviving family member in favor of a boy who promised her the world.

She was embarrassed, ashamed even. Kara was to be the one to look out for him yet she had been played like a little girl. A mission with herself, literally, was what she needed to rediscover who she was and find that hope to live.

 As she plowed through another durasteel, wall she pushed the thoughts from her mind, instead focusing on the here and now. Whoever was testing her, she was getting close to them she could feel it. When Karen’s friend, someone with a connection to Gotham City apparently, had given them this information Kara insisted that she be the one to charge in. Not that she gave Karen much time to debate with her. And while the older woman could have easily followed her, she seemed to understand that her younger self needed to do this alone.

The red sirens blurred as Kara sped down the corridor until a door with the label **Authorized Personnel Only** appeared in front of her. It seemed obvious enough. She came to a stop and punched a hole into the door, not bothering with the security panel. There was a milli-second of resistance before she pulled the steel door right off its hinges and tossed it aside.

Waiting for her were armed guards and behind them humans in white lab coats. Some had frozen in fear and awe, others were running for the exits or throwing piles of paper into a pit of fire.

_“OPEN FIRE!”_

The soldiers rained fire upon her at the command, their assault fires unleashing a fury that would leave any normal being in a pile of meat and blood. However Kara was no normal being. She remained floating in the air for effect, letting the bullets bounce off her indestructible body. After a minute she sped away, moving faster than their eyes could track. The soldiers were left shooting at a blue vapor trail as one by one they were picked off until only the Kryptonian stood among the guards.

What was left of the scientists had stopped what they were doing to stare at her. Some of them probably wondered if they were going to see their families again. Before she could decide what to do, her mind was made up for her as out of the corner of her eye she could see one scientist at a terminal. In the blink of an eye she was there, holding the man in the air by the neck of his shirt.

“Who do you work for?” (Karen had told her that was an important English phrase to remember in their line of work.)

 “We’re just scientist!” the man declared, a terrified expression across his features as he clenched his eyes in fear.

Kara glared.

“I swear! W-we d-don’t know where the m-money comes from. They just tell us what to do. A-a woman! But I don’t know who she works for, I swear! We just follow their instructions” the dread in the man’s voice inclined Kara to believe him so she set him down rather harshly, and looked at the console he had been attempting to access.

“’Patient Zero’” she read aloud then turned to the scientist for an explanation. Naturally he offered none but the slightest momentary flicker of his eyes to the south wall was the only information she needed. She was starting to find that criminals were very easy to read.

Supergirl walked to the wall, attempting to use her x-ray vision on it only to find she couldn’t see through it. Curious. Frowning she looked to the nearest scientist, fixing him with her glare which prompted him to get the hint and run to the nearest console.

“Lead-lined walls. A-uh-precaution against Superman” the man explained as he hit a succession of keys on the computer. At least he was more cooperative.

_Why would these men want to hide something from Kal?_ She knew the criminals of this planet must fear Clark but there was no way a _mere_ criminal would take these kind of precautions.The thought only reinforced her suspicion that she was getting close to who was after her; clearly they knew something about her cousin.

With a hiss a hidden panel in the wall slid inwards and to the side to reveal a darkened room. Kara took a step towards it before stopping herself. If they were taking precautions against Kal there could be Kryptonite in there and the last thing she needed to do was expose herself to more of the green rock.

As if he had sensed her unspoken question the helpful scientist spoke up, “You don’t have to worry about Kryptonite…It would be just as harmful to our patient as you…Well maybe not just as painful.” His attempt at humor was met with a glare before Kara turned her attention back to the hidden room, taking a cautious step towards it.

The only illumination she could see was a faint white glow in the corner of the room. No hint of green, which was a good sign wasn’t it? Still, it seemed questionable at best to venture in alone but Kara had never been one for waiting, why start now?

With each step she was shrouded in further darkness until she finally grew closer to the source of the light. Her eyes had adjusted and she could make out a table, a surgery table. A small gasp escaped her lips as she saw that the light was aimed at the face of a young man. His arms and wrists were strapped down to the table and he seemed to be in a state of unconsciousness.

_‘What kind of people are they?’_

It seemed every time she had started to grasp a part of humanity they managed to make her question them. Kal always talked about the good in them but then how did he explain this? Holding a person prisoner in what equated to a glorified dungeon.

The blonde’s confusion quickly gave way to anger though. She reached down and snapped the restraints on the man’s body. She was careful to pick him up gingerly, placing one hand under his neck and the other at the crook of his knees. She had to admit that she was somewhat surprised to  see the scientist still frozen in fear when she emerged, hovering off the ground. Their presence did nothing to erase the frown from her face though.

Her eyes narrowed and they quickly filled with red. A few of the scientist let of yells and screams as they tried to run from the room. When her heat vision unleashed itself it wasn’t the people who she was aiming at, instead she directed the beams to the consoles.

The machinery exploded on contact, earning even more shouts of alarm from the scientists. They had finally started fleeing but Kara paid them no mind. If they made it out, they made it out. Directing herself back the way she came Supergirl sped away, leaving a trail of blown papers and dust behind her.

_…Beep…Beep…_

The slow sound of the heart monitor was the first thing that James Clarke registered. It felt as if he was waking from a deep sleep, the fog in his mind slowly dissipating. However, this was no new sensation. Each time they put him under it was like this, always taking him a while to get his bearings when he woke up. But something felt off this time around.

_‘Patient Zero conscious. Vital signs stable.’_

At that voice his eyes shot open. Instead of seeing the glaring light of the lamp that was usually focused on him, he instead saw a white ceiling. He raised his head slightly and saw even more, a blue wall, shiny floor. This wasn’t the darkness he had come to call home. James had been so surprised by this turn of events that he didn’t realize his arms weren’t restrained either.

Another voice caused his head to snap to the side. This one wasn’t mechanical as the previous voice had been, instead it was warm and gentle. Brown eyes searched for the source, eventually falling on long legs, a blue uniform, and stunning blue eyes. In the center of her chest was an ‘S’.

“Superman…” he muttered, the symbol striking up something familiar in his mind. It seemed to be the only familiar thing.

The woman’s face gave away nothing but her mouth was moving. The only problem was that James couldn’t understand what she was saying. His blank expression must have triggered something in her own mind as a look of revelation came across her face.

“I slip into my natural tongue without realizing it” her voice came out. There was certainly a hint of an accent but James was still too groggy to place it. As he tried to sit up she quickly floated… _floated?!_ “Don’t try to move, at least not until Sanctuary can assess you.”

“Sanctuary?”

As if on cue the mechanical voice spoke again, seeming to come from all around them.

_‘All major organs seem to be functioning properly, Kara’_

So her name was Kara. James let the name sit in his head for a moment, completely ignoring the fact that the voice was talking about his own health.

_‘There are however, trace amounts of an unknown element on a cellular level’_

Kara put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. She had intended to take the stranger before her to a normal civilian hospital but curiosity had gotten the best of her. For all she knew this person could be dangerous, or as Sanctuary had just put it, an unknown.

“Do you remember where you were before this?”

That question snapped his attention back to her, almost startlingly so. “It’s all I remember. The men in the white jackets would come in, write things down on their clipboards, maybe ask me a few questions if I was lucky. Then darkness again, at least until I eventually drifted off. It’s been like that for as long as I can remember.”

“No family?” her question was direct but there was a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Not that I know of.”

Kara looked at him sadly. She of all people knew what it meant to have no family, or at least not have any remaining. Hell, before she had accepted that Kal-El was her baby cousin all grown up, she had felt like she was alone. And even after there were times when Kara didn’t feel like they were as close as family should be, especially after the He’l debacle. Slowly but surely their bond was strengthening though and it reminded her that everyone needed family. A thought only made her heart go out to this stranger even more so.

“I suppose that means you wouldn’t know where to go” a small nod confirmed the hunch, “Maybe Kal could help…he did just quit his job though…”

Kara’s thinking out loud left James looking at her in confusion. He didn’t know who this Kal was and he wasn’t exactly sure if he _should_ know who he was. In all honesty he was still getting adjusted to the fact that everything around him wasn’t shrouded in darkness. Now that he wasn’t…he wasn’t sure what to do with himself. Like the blonde had just stated, he didn’t even remember what the world was like. If she let him loose would he just wander the streets alone?

“If you like, you could remain here. At least until I try and find somewhere for you” she finally said, directing her words towards James.

“Like a test subject” his tone was oddly defensive for someone who was in no position to be so. But not unwarranted all things considered.

Kara’s expression softened when she heard his accusation. She had a desire to know what this unknown element within him was; if it was anything at all and why the people who were after her had him locked up as well. But she was not going to keep a man against his will; _she couldn’t_. She still felt as if she was making up for the sins she had almost committed (literally with the kryptonite poisioning) she couldn’t afford to pile on to that.

“No. Never. While Sanctuary has it’s restrictions for my own safety you can leave when you like. Via teleportation” she said, opening her hands in gesture, “I have a…friend. She’s important here on Earth, she may be able to help you get your identity back. Even if it is a superficial one.” Clark Kent may be a small fry but her alternate self was wealthy, powerful, and had technologies. If anyone could help her, it would be herself.  “If you want my help of course.”

James paused, biting his lip in thought. Intentions aside this girl had done nothing but helped him. What did he have to lose anyway? “I would like that.”

For a moment it seemed like her blue eyes twinkled as she flashed him a smile. He leaned up as much as his body would let him and offered her his hand. “I do remember one other thing. My name. They always called me Patient Zero but I never forgot. I’m James. James Clarke.”

 


End file.
